A holiday tradition in Christmas trash

I have fond memories of Christmas trash.

    Growing up in a family of eight children during the 1960s and ‘70s provided plenty of adventure and many fond memories, particularly about seasonal celebrations and traditions.

    Christmas was always an exciting time in my childhood home in Arlington Heights. Mom and dad practiced a variety of traditions leading up to Christmas Day, including selecting a fresh-cut Christmas tree, decorating the house and sharing memories of Christmas traditions from their younger years.

    My brothers and I had our own holiday traditions and one of the oddest was practiced on garbage day, the day when Arlington Heights residents put out their household trash for the weekly pick up by the waste hauler. 

    The first garbage day after Christmas always provided insight about our friends and neighbors and the type of gifts they gave and received for Christmas. On one level it was an exercise in the indirect observation of contemporary culture—any sociologist will tell you that we can learn a great deal about a society from its trash. 

    For boys in a family of eight kids, garbage day also provided cheap entertainment during the winter break from school.

    When garbage day arrived, my brothers and I would pull on coats, gloves, boots, and other winter gear to hike the neighborhood to look at the discarded gift boxes, toy packages, and related holiday debris. Others saw simple piles of trash, but we found clues pointing to friends who had received new slot car sets, athletic equipment, games, maybe even a new TV. 

    We could identify the friends who received the gifts we wanted but didn’t get. This information allowed us to prioritize who we would visit in the coming days and how we would spend our time during those visits. We can say today that garbage day offered valuable lessons in networking and time management. 

    I have wonderful memories of time spent playing with toys and games I never received; ones my parents couldn’t afford because they spent nearly all of their money on food and clothing for their eight children. 

    Two of my brothers have since died, one was killed by a drunk driver and the other by a massive heart attack. I think of them throughout the year, but on the first garbage day after Christmas, when I catch myself eyeing the empty boxes that are stacked high along curbs for disposal, I am reminded of the years when the Botterman boys would dress for cold weather and stroll the streets to learn what others received for Christmas. 

Basketball and a fine memory of dad

Gene Hackman, center, stars in "Hoosiers."

Courtesy photo

Now that only some bowl games remain in the 2012 college football season, I turn my attention to college basketball.

I enjoy professional sports, but I find college contests, particularly in football and basketball, more engaging and entertaining. 

At some point during the basketball season, I will pause from the real action to view my copy of “Hoosiers,” director David Anspaugh’s 1986 movie about a small Indiana high school basketball team in the early1950s that competes for the state title.

I have watched the movie a number of times and still enjoy it, particularly its soundtrack, which was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.

I am not a film critic and will not rate the movie or compare it with others. For me, there is more to “Hoosiers” than just the story it tells or the acting performances. The movie depicts a small town that seems a lot like Arlington Heights, Ill., my hometown. 

The film doesn’t capture the Arlington Heights that I grew up in during the 1970s, but Arlington Heights as it existed in the early 1940s, when my dad, Robert, played basketball for Arlington High School. 

Dad wasn’t one to bring up the past on his own, but he would readily talk about it and other topics if asked. My dad sparked my interest in all kinds of history when I was a young boy, so I frequently questioned him about all sorts of things related to history and some that were not. My questions annoyed him sometimes, but most of the time he indulged me.

I once watched “Hoosiers” with dad and afterward we talked about his high school basketball experiences.

I remember being surprised when dad’s first comment was about how the movie, particularly its brief scenes of the team’s bus rides to games at other high schools, revived memories he hadn’t recalled for years. 

I had expected dad’s first comments to be about his most memorable game, or maybe his favorite coach. Instead, dad talked about how the movie’s images reminded him of the bus rides he shared with teammates as they traveled to other rural towns in an area that now comprises the Northwest suburbs of Chicago.

He went on that night about a particular memory he had of riding the bus along Route 14, Northwest Highway, from Arlington Heights to Palatine High School. World War II was being fought and TV had not yet arrived, so high school games were big entertainment in most communities, dad explained. There was always excitement about each game. Town residents knew each of the players on the local team and the teams enjoyed strong support.

Dad described the farms and businesses that were located along the highway then. He described things in such vivid detail that whenever I watch “Hoosiers” I am reminded of dad’s commentary about his drive to that game at Palatine High School.

I recall my dad becoming animated as he related all of this to me. The whole exchange took probably no more than 10 minutes, but it set a lasting memory in my mind.

I have watched “Hoosiers” about two dozen times since the night I watched it with my father, but that night in 1987 was the only time I watched it with him. Dad died in 1995, just a few months before my daughter was born. 

I have many wonderful memories of dad, but the one related to our “Hoosiers” conversation stands out as one of my favorites, and that’s probably the real reason I watch the movie so frequently.

—Kevin Botterman is an award-winning journalist and media affairs consultant. Send email to kbotterman@gmail.com.

Batavia Fine Arts Centre to host Asner as FDR

Veteran actor Ed Asner will visit Batavia Feb. 2.

Submitted photo

The Batavia Fine Arts Centre will host veteran actor Ed Asner in "FDR" on Feb. 2. The show is a solo performance that features Asner as President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he reflects on his years in office, from his first inauguration through World War 11. The show is based on Dore Schary's Broadway hit "Sunrise at Campobello." Tickets are available online and at the door. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, call 630-937-8930 or go to www.bataviafineartscentre.org. The center is located at Batavia High School, 1201 W. Main St., Batavia. 

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, left, attends a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Submitted photo

Charles Schwab & Co. opens Geneva location
Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns joined members of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Charles Schwab & Co., 500 S. Third St., Geneva.  For more information, call 630-208-4935.

Geneva chamber to host annual Christmas Walk & House Tour
The Geneva Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Christmas Walk & House Tour Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8. The Christmas Walk will begin at 6 p.m. Dec. 7, with the arrival of Santa Lucia, the Swedish symbol of the season, and her attendants. They will join Santa for the lighting of the Great Tree on the Courthouse lawn in downtown Geneva. The House Tour will be conducted from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 7 and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 8. The tour will feature five distinctive homes decorated for the holidays. Tickets for the tour are $30 each. For more information, call the chamber at 630-232-6060.

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